HEALTH

Babies

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will establish a register of babies naturally born before 24 weeks gestation.

Daniel Poulter: All live births in England and Wales must be registered, regardless of gestational age. Data on live births by gestation are collected by the Office for National Statistics and published annually (as part of the statistical bulletin on gestation-specific infant mortality in England and Wales).
	There are no current plans to establish a separate register of babies born before 24 weeks gestation.

Breast Cancer

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government is taking to reduce the number of avoidable deaths from breast cancer and to improve survival rates for that disease.

Jane Ellison: Achieving earlier diagnosis of cancer is key to our ambition to save an additional 5,000 lives per year by 2014-2015 and improve cancer outcomes and survival, including for breast cancer. ‘Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer’, published in January 2011, set out the Government’s ambition to close the gap in survival outcomes by 2014-15 and the strategy is backed with more than £750 million over this spending review period (four years) including more than £450 million to achieve early diagnosis.
	Specifically on breast cancer, following successful local and regional pilots, a national breast cancer campaign targeting women aged 70 years plus ran in England only from 3 February to 16 March 2014. The campaign included television, press, direct mail and out-of-home media advertising and the key message was: ‘1 in 3 women who get breast cancer are over 70, so don’t assume you’re past it.’ The campaign was targeted at women over 70 as breast cancer survival is lower in this group than in younger women. In addition, as part of a major trial, we are extending the breast screening programme to women aged 47-49 and 71-73.
	The Be Clear on Cancer campaign on breast cancer in women over 70 has been successful in raising awareness of symptoms. Since this time last year, the number of patients seen by a specialist for investigation of unusual breast symptom has risen by almost 20%.

Buildings

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review his departmental estate in order to reduce costs; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: The Departmental estate has been undergoing significant rationalisation and cost reduction. In summary the Department and its arm’s length bodies have reduced our estates and facilities costs from £183.1 million in 2009-10 to £121.7 million in 2012-13.
	The latest State of the Estate report (SofTE) reports annually on progress made during the year in improving the efficiency of the Government’s Civil Estate. This is available online at:
	www.gov.uk/government/collections/state-of-the-estate
	The Department’s Property Delivery Plan, refreshed annually, sets out how the Department will continue to reduce its estate and costs beyond 2015. This plan is due to be reviewed at the end of 2014.

Continuing Care

Richard Harrington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what progress clinical commissioning groups have made in (a) processing retrospective continuing care claims and (b) the payment of compensation to affected families;
	(2)  what support his Department is giving to clinical commissioning groups to process retrospective continuing care claims.

Norman Lamb: NHS England is aware of the issues regarding the management by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) of these cases. NHS England is developing a plan to identify CCGs where further support may be required, including the development of local action plans. The Department will continue to work closely with NHS England to understand and support the progress of these cases and to seek assurance that they are being dealt with as quickly as possible.

Dental Services

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of NHS dentistry contracts that were in place between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014; and what the (a) name and (b) location was of each provider;
	(2)  what area is covered by each NHS dentistry contract commissioned between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014; what the start and finish dates are of each contract area; what the value of each contract is; and how many units of dental activity were (a) contracted to be completed and (b) completed between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014 under each contract.

Daniel Poulter: A table has been placed in the Library which sets out the number of dental contracts reported to the NHS Business Services Authority as in place between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014, the name of the contract holder and the area in which the contract is held. The table includes start and, where applicable, finish dates. It also shows the contract value, commissioned and completed units of dental activity and units of orthodontic activity.

Electronic Cigarettes

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the definition of e-cigarettes as tobacco products under the terms of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Jane Ellison: Electronic cigarettes are not defined as tobacco products under the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The regulation of e-cigarettes, is however, scheduled for discussion at the sixth session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control on 13–18 October 2014.

Electronic Cigarettes

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when he expects to announce the implementation of industry standards for those e-cigarettes regulated as consumer products;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to implement stronger checks to ensure no rogue batches of e-cigarettes and liquid are reaching the UK.

Jane Ellison: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 1 September 2014, Official Report, columns 185-86W.

Foetal Death

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children were naturally stillborn before 24 weeks' gestation in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: Information on the number of pregnancy losses before 24 weeks’ gestation is not collected centrally.

Foetal Death

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what representations he has received on changing the law relating to designation of babies born before 24 weeks' gestation as stillborn;
	(2)  what representations he has received about the establishment of a register of babies stillborn before 24 weeks' gestation.

Daniel Poulter: A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified eight items of correspondence received since 1 July 2013 about the law relating to the designation and registration of pregnancy losses before 24 weeks gestation. This is a minimum figure which represents correspondence received by the Department’s Ministerial correspondence unit only.
	Since 1 July 2013, two written parliamentary questions have been received about the law relating to the designation and registration of pregnancy losses before 24 weeks gestation.
	I met the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) in April 2014 to discuss the Registration of Stillbirths 2013-14 Private members (10 minute rule) Bill. The Bill was also raised by several hon. Members in a Westminster Hall debate about stillbirth and infant mortality on 26 March 2014.

General Practitioners

Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many GP surgeries which receive income from the minimum price income guarantee are in areas which are high on the deprivation index;
	(2)  what the cost to the public purse is of freezing the withdrawal of the minimum price income guarantee from GP practices which receive it as of 1 August 2014.

Daniel Poulter: Of the 2,824 practices that receive Minimum Practice Income Guarantee (MPIG) payments, around 15% of these (411 practices) are ranked in the upper 20% of areas on the Index of Multiple Deprivation.
	The freezing of the withdrawal of the MPIG could cost up to £11 million in 2014-15. This is because the ‘global sum’ payments-into which the reductions in MPIG are added for all practices-have already been set for the year.
	This estimated cost would be for 2014-15 only and assumes that any additional costs would only be for part of the year, ie from 1 August.

Health Services: Older People

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 17 July 2014, Official Report, columns 766-7W on NHS: funding, if he will estimate the cost of the challenge posed by the pressures posed by the pressures of an aging population and the cost of new investment.

Daniel Poulter: In its Fiscal Sustainability Reports-the latest of which was published on 10 July 2014-the Office for Budget Responsibility publishes estimates of long-term public spending, including health care, up to 2063-64. These estimates incorporate a number of assumptions, including the impact of expected demographic change.

Hospitals: Parking

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the average amount a full-time NHS worker spends on car parking on NHS sites each year.

Daniel Poulter: Estimates of the average amount a full time national health service worker spends on car parking on NHS sites each year are not made centrally. NHS organisations make decisions on the provision and charging for car parking locally for patients, visitors and staff.

Medicine: Teachers

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to create an effective national mechanism for payment for the academic development of medical teachers.

Daniel Poulter: From 1 April 2013, central funding for education and training is provided by the Department to Health Education England (HEE) to fund their responsibilities for managing the delivery of education and training for the healthcare system.
	HEE receives funding via the National Institute of Health Research to support individuals in specialist training to undertake academic training and become the researchers and educators of the future. For 2014-15 this funding supports 1,206 posts.

Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the current safe staff-to-patient ratio on elderly and dementia wards in the Mid Yorkshire NHS trust.

Daniel Poulter: This information is not collected centrally.
	Local national health service trusts decide how many staff they employ, and make these decisions based on the needs of their patients and local communities.
	While the right staffing levels are vital for good patient care, minimum staffing numbers and ratios cannot take account of local circumstances, skill mix or case mix.
	One of the roles for the Chief Inspector of Hospitals is to take action if hospitals are found to be compromising patient care by not having the right number of staff on wards.

Motor Neurone Disease

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much funding his Department has allocated to research into motor neurone disease in each of last 10 years;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing in Scotland on funding for research into motor neurone disease.

Daniel Poulter: Prior to the establishment of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in April 2006, the main part of the Department's total health research expenditure was devolved to and managed by national health service organisations. From April 2006 to March 2009, transitional research funding was allocated to these organisations at reducing levels. The organisations have accounted for their use of the allocations they have received from the Department in an annual research and development report. The reports identify total, aggregated expenditure on national priority areas but do not provide details of spend on research into specific diseases including motor neurone disease (MND).
	Expenditure on MND research by the NIHR from 2009-10 through research programmes, research centres and units, and research fellowships is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2009-10 0.1 
			 2010-11 0.1 
			 2011-12 0.4 
			 2012-13 0.7 
			 2013-14 0.5 
		
	
	Total spend by the NIHR on MND research is higher than this because expenditure by the NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) on this topic cannot be disaggregated from total CRN expenditure.
	The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has had no discussions on funding for MND research with the Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing.

NHS: Training

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of whether payments mechanisms to medical schools in the form of SIFT funding are resulting in general practices being underpaid.

Daniel Poulter: Responsibility for the Service Increment for Teaching funding for clinical placements for undergraduate medical and dental students was transferred to Health Education England (HEE) from April 2013. Current rates for hospitals are subject to a national tariff, and those for general practices are subject to historic local agreement.
	The Department and HEE are reviewing the funding for medical placements in GP practices. Until this review concludes, no changes are being planned to the funding of these placements.

Nurses

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many clinical nurse specialists are employed by each health trust in England.

Daniel Poulter: Information on the number of clinical nurse specialists employed by each health trust in England is only available centrally for those working in cancer, diabetes and trauma. This is available through the National Peer Review Programme, which is a quality assurance programme managed by NHS England for the National Health Service. However, the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
	The Government has supported the development of a range of specialist roles within nursing. It is for local NHS organisations with their knowledge of the healthcare needs of their local population to invest in training for specialist skills and to deploy specialist nurses. Specialist nurses provide invaluable support for patients and their families. They are able to provide specialist treatment and advice and act as a gateway to other members of the multidisciplinary team, which improves care and outcomes.

Nurses

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust has spent on permanent nursing staff in each year since 2010;
	(2)  how much Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust has spent on hiring temporary nursing staff in each year since 2010.

Daniel Poulter: Information is not available in the format requested.
	The amounts spent by Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust on nursing, midwifery and health visiting for NHS and non-NHS staff are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 
			 £000 
			  2010-11 2011-12 
			 NHS staff: nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 90,832 107,686 
			 Non-NHS staff (agency, etc): nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 533 742 
			 Notes: 1. It is not possible to separately identify “nursing staff” expenditure from “nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff” expenditure. The closest match is expenditure on “nursing, midwifery and health visiting” for NHS and non-NHS staff. 2. Locums and bank staff (whether organised by the Trust itself or NHS Professionals) are included in the “NHS Staff” figures, unless the payment for their services is to a private employment agency. Private agency staff procured via NHS Professionals are included in the “non-NHS staff” figures. 3. The data is taken from the annual Financial Returns, which are a means for the NHS to provide planning and costing information to the Department, and these essentially provide a more detailed breakdown of individual expenditure lines reported in the audited summarisation schedules. The Financial Returns data is not itself audited, but is instead validated by reference to the audited summarisation schedules from which the NHS Summarised Accounts are prepared. 4. The Department ceased to collect data via the annual Financial Returns for NHS trusts from 2012-13 onwards. Data has therefore only been provided for 2010-11 and 2011-12. Source: Unaudited Financial Returns 2010-11, 2011-12

Paramedical Staff

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many paramedics were working in each ambulance service in England in each month since May 2010.

Daniel Poulter: The number of paramedics working in each ambulance service in England in each month since May 2010 is in the following table:
	
		
			 NHS hospital and community health services: Paramedics in England by ambulance trust as at the end of each specified month 
			 Number 
			  May 2010 Jun 2010 July 2010 Aug 2010 Sep 2010 Oct 2010 Nov 2010 Dec 2010 Jan 2011 Feb 2011 Mar 2011 Apr 2011 
			 Total paramedic staff 10,118 10,148 10,174 10,195 10,230 10,353 10,428 10,457 10,537 10,604 10,658 10,667 
			              
			 London Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1,764 1,770 1,762 1,767 1,776 1,809 1,829 1,834 1,837 1,842 1,869 1,898 
			 Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust 404 416 408 408 408 425 435 436 454 465 473 479 
			 North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 535 538 540 538 537 544 550 550 554 564 568 566 
			 North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1,333 1,340 1,335 1,337 1,331 1,349 1,350 1,351 1,373 1,379 1,378 1,373 
			 Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 970 971 988 993 1,011 1,031 1,033 1,038 1,056 1,071 1,083 1,087 
			 East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1,064 1,059 1,061 1,068 1,081 1,096 1,103 1,105 1,112 1,116 1,109 1,098 
			 West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 1,125 1,132 1,152 1,164 1,168 1,184 1,205 1,208 1,218 1,240 1,252 1,245 
			 East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust 968 969 968 966 964 969 973 984 989 990 987 978 
			 South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 643 644 643 634 620 603 607 609 613 613 611 616 
		
	
	
		
			 South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 513 513 526 536 540 551 550 546 544 548 549 548 
			 South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 800 796 791 785 796 792 794 795 786 776 780 779 
		
	
	
		
			 Number 
			  May 2011 Jun 2011 July 2011 Aug 2011 Sep 2011 Oct 2011 Nov 2011 Dec 2011 Jan 2012 Feb 2012 Mar 2012 Apr 2012 
			 Total paramedic staff 10,667 10,669 10,684 10,785 10,865 11,058 11,163 11,154 11,154 11,238 11,247 11,220 
			              
			 London Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1,888 1,881 1,874 1,876 1,894 1,915 1,929 1,914 1,898 1,896 1,898 1,890 
			 Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust 486 490 488 489 518 527 533 527 540 548 563 566 
			 North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 568 564 565 561 557 573 580 578 577 595 594 597 
			 North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1,379 1,375 1,371 1,401 1,414 1,479 1,536 1,553 1,546 1,558 1,562 1,564 
			 Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1,087 1,097 1,098 1,092 1,090 1,106 1,107 1,106 1,110 1,115 1,116 1,110 
			 East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1,099 1,105 1,110 1,098 1,108 1,115 1,115 1,116 1,115 1,122 1,121 1,117 
			 West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 1,245 1,236 1,239 1,240 1,237 1,251 1,257 1,264 1,268 1,280 1,277 1,275 
			 East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust 974 975 983 980 980 987 996 1,005 1,006 1,012 1,010 1,009 
			 South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 612 611 614 675 681 681 692 685 686 686 687 674 
			 South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 547 550 564 591 595 621 613 603 604 623 620 615 
			 South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 782 784 779 783 790 803 805 802 804 801 799 802 
		
	
	
		
			 Number 
			  May 2012 Jun 2012 Jul 2012 Aug 2012 Sep 2012 Oct 2012 Nov 2012 Dec 2012 Jan 2013 Feb 2013 Mar 2013 Apr 2013 
			 Total paramedic staff 11,201 11,162 11,224 11,258 11,405 11,599 11,682 11,723 11,779 11,865 11,851 11,878 
			              
			 London Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1,881 1,858 1,878 1,888 1,906 1,944 1,973 1,977 1,997 1,988 1,979 2,000 
			 Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust 571 571 566 563 584 593 594 588 586 — — — 
			 North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 592 589 588 586 584 601 600 600 599 600 598 595 
			 North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1,557 1,546 1,537 1,531 1,540 1,571 1,606 1,613 1,619 1,626 1,622 1,635 
			 Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1,111 1,111 1,123 1,118 1,119 1,132 1,133 1,143 1,143 1,155 1,159 1,155 
			 East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1,118 1,119 1,118 1,117 1,123 1,128 1,130 1,132 1,161 1,174 1,170 1,157 
			 West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 1,269 1,272 1,288 1,309 1,342 1,371 1,373 1,400 1,404 1,424 1,423 1,417 
			 East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1,017 1,023 1,024 1,013 1,009 1,013 1,009 1,018 1,011 1,027 1,029 1,034 
			 South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 667 657 662 691 726 756 754 751 746 757 755 760 
			 South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 614 608 632 629 655 668 680 676 687 696 697 700 
		
	
	
		
			 Number 
			  May 2013 Jun 2013 July 2013 Aug 2013 Sep 2013 Oct 2013 Nov 2013 Dec 2013 Jan 2014 Feb 2014 Mar 2014 Apr 2014 
			 Total paramedic staff 11,863 11,823 11,837 11,856 11,964 12,136 12,190 12,188 12,175 12,168 12,140 12,113 
			              
			 London Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1,988 1,973 1,962 1,943 1,928 1,980 1,971 1,958 1,941 1,923 1,910 1,896 
			 Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 595 591 587 582 574 570 565 562 558 551 550 546 
			 North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1,630 1,626 1,615 1,611 1,638 1,682 1,723 1,726 1,733 1,733 1,718 1,711 
		
	
	
		
			 Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1,159 1,156 1,160 1,169 1,168 1,165 1,160 1,169 1,180 1,177 1,174 1,175 
			 East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1,154 1,148 1,158 1,152 1,164 1,180 1,182 1,179 1,187 1,187 1,180 1,175 
			 West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 1,415 1,416 1,420 1,421 1,439 1,470 1,467 1,465 1,467 1,477 1,477 1,470 
			 East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1,038 1,035 1,043 1,058 1,073 1,081 1,087 1,092 1,082 1,108 1,117 1,121 
			 South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 756 752 763 777 824 823 828 827 823 811 818 839 
			 South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 697 699 692 710 726 727 719 720 717 715 706 697 
			 South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 1,431 1,429 1,436 1,432 1,430 1,456 1,488 1,490 1,487 1,487 1,491 1,482 
			 — denotes zero. Notes: 1. April 2014 is the most recent data available. 2. Full-time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number. 3. These statistics relate to the contracted positions within English NHS organisations and may include those where the person assigned to the position is temporarily absent, for example on maternity leave. 4. From 1 February 2013 the services previously provided by Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust transferred into South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. Data quality: The Health and Social Care Information Centre seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Monthly data: As from 21 July 2010 the Health and Social Care Information Centre has published provisional monthly NHS workforce data. As expected with provisional statistics, some figures may be revised from month to month as issues are uncovered and resolved. The monthly workforce data is not directly comparable with the annual workforce census; it only includes those staff on the Electronic Staff Record (i.e. it does not include primary care staff or bank staff). There are also new methods of presenting data (headcount methodology is different and there is now a role count). This information is available from September 2009 onwards at the following website: www.hscic.gov.uk Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre Provisional Monthly Workforce Statistics.

Parkinson's Disease

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many incidents of medication errors involving hospital patients with Parkinson's disease have been reported since the joint patient safety alert on steps to improve data reporting quality was issued by NHS England and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in March 2014;
	(2)  with reference to the National Patient Safety Agency rapid response report on reducing harm from omitted and delayed medicines in hospital, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that hospitals in England and Wales are able to supply Parkinson's disease medications to patients in a timely way.

George Freeman: NHS England has advised that, between 20 March 2014 and 21 July 2014, 617 incidents in general, acute or community hospitals or mental health facilities involving Parkinson’s disease and medicines used to treat Parkinson’s disease were reported through the National Reporting and Learning System.
	Improving services for people with Parkinson's disease and other neurological conditions is a key priority for NHS England. Its strategic clinical networks have a specific focus on patients with neurological problems, such as Parkinson’s disease. NHS trusts and care homes in England should have policies and procedures in place to ensure that people with Parkinson’s disease receive their medicines when they are required to take them to control their illness and symptoms.
	NHS England has recently launched a medication ‘safety thermometer’ that enables health and care organisations to measure aspects of medication safety on a regular basis for improvement purposes. This will enable hospitals to track their progress in reducing the number of omitted doses of medicines, including of those used to treat Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson's Disease

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department's Complaints Programme Board has taken to improve the handling of complaints by people with Parkinson's disease who do not receive their medication on time in hospital or a care home.

Daniel Poulter: The Complaints Programme Board is made up of partners across the health and care system working together to improve complaints handling for the benefit of patients, and to deliver specific commitments related to this in the Government's Hard Truths report. It is important that patients understand how to complain about their care or treatment if they wish to. For that reason, we will shortly publish a simple guide describing how to complain so whatever health condition a patient has, or whatever they want to complain about, they can do so easily and find the right support to help them if they need it.

Postnatal Depression

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women had post-natal depression in the UK in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: We do not hold data on the number of women suffering from postnatal depression centrally.
	Postnatal depression encompasses a range of diagnoses from anxiety and depression to the more severe puerperal psychosis, with symptoms occurring a few weeks or months after birth. Postnatal depression may be diagnosed by different health professionals such as midwives, health visitors or general practitioners seeing women in different settings and using different information systems.

Postnatal Depression

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to support women with post-natal depression in the UK.

Daniel Poulter: Health Education England (HEE) has committed to ensure that we have the right knowledge and training available so that we can be skilled in how we look after women’s mental as well as physical health. The HEE Mandate includes an objective that there will be specialist staff available for every birthing unit by 2017.
	The Department has funded the Institute of Health Visitors to train a network of 375 perinatal mental health visitor champions, and has also introduced three interactive e-learning modules. This new resource will help health visitors in the detection and management of perinatal depression and other maternal mental health conditions.
	The Mandate from the Government to NHS England includes an objective for NHS England to work with partner organisations to reduce the incidence and impact of postnatal depression through earlier diagnosis, and better intervention and support.
	The NHS Mandate also includes an objective that every woman has a named midwife who is responsible for ensuring she has personalised care throughout pregnancy, childbirth and during the postnatal period. This will help clinicians to identify perinatal mental health problems as early as possible and to give women the support they need.
	To achieve this we have increased the number of midwives by over 1,700 and the number of health visitors by over 2,000 since May 2010. In addition, a record 6,000 midwifery students are currently in training and we are committed to having an extra 4,200 health visitors by 2015.

Poultry Meat: Northern Ireland

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent reports he has received of food contamination at chicken abattoirs in Northern Ireland;
	(2)  if he will ask the Food Standards Agency to assess the level of food contamination at chicken abattoirs in Northern Ireland.

Jane Ellison: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is responsible for meat hygiene official controls in poultry abattoirs across the United Kingdom (UK). The FSA advises there are six poultry abattoirs in Northern Ireland.
	The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Veterinary Service (DARD VS) delivers meat hygiene official controls in poultry abattoirs on behalf of the FSA in Northern Ireland. DARD VS veterinary officials carry out these controls in the areas of ante-mortem inspection, post mortem inspection, sampling and regular verification audits of the abattoirs.
	Post mortem inspection is carried out by qualified poultry meat inspectors or plant inspection assistants working under the direct supervision of the official veterinarian (OV). The OV is responsible for verifying on a daily basis that the post mortem inspection is carried out in accordance with food law. Part of the post mortem inspection includes examination of the carcase and offal for visible contamination.
	DARD VS official veterinarians also conduct regular audits of approved establishments to verify that food business operators are complying with food law requirements.
	Five of the poultry abattoirs have an audit category of ‘broadly compliant’ and one abattoir has an audit category of ‘not broadly compliant’ as of July 2014. Where an abattoir is not broadly compliant DARD VS takes action to improve compliance.
	The outcomes of audit for FSA approved poultry abattoirs for Northern Ireland are published at:
	www.food.gov.uk/business-industry/meat/audit
	It is the responsibility of food business operators to comply with food law and ensure the food they produce is safe to eat.
	The FSA in the UK are committed to reducing Campylobacter contamination in poultry at retail sale. A UK survey commenced in February 2014 and includes samples from NI. The results are published at:
	www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2014/9279/campylobacter-survey
	The first set of results was published in August 2014.

Pregnant Women: Screening

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what diseases are routinely screened for in antenatal screening in NHS hospitals;
	(2)  how much the NHS spent on antenatal screening in the last year;
	(3)  what steps his Department is taking to (a) widen NHS antenatal screening to cover more diseases and (b) offer the option of further screening to more women.

Daniel Poulter: The UK National Screening Committee provides advice to Ministers on screening issues. It will continue to keep all antenatal screening programmes under review and will advise further when appropriate.
	All pregnant women are offered screening for thalassaemia, hepatitis B, HIV, rubella susceptibility and syphilis. A test for sickle cell is offered if the fetus is identified of being at higher risk of this condition.
	All pregnant women are also offered ultrasound scans during their pregnancy. This screening identifies Down’s syndrome, and major structural anomalies such as anencephaly, open spina bifida, cleft lip, diaphragmatic hernia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, serious cardiac abnormalities, bilateral renal agenesis, lethal skeletal dyslasia, Edwards’ syndrome (Trisomy 18) and Patau’s syndrome (Trisomy 13).
	To obtain how much the National Health Service has spent on antenatal screening in the last year would be at a disproportionate cost.

Prescription Drugs

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on making it easier for licensed medication drugs to be used for off-patent treatments.

George Freeman: Prescribers should always consider using a licensed medicine within the terms of its licenses as the first option. Where this approach does not meet the clinical needs of a patient, clinicians can prescribe a licensed medicine outside the terms of its license. Information to support clinical decisions on the use of medicines outside their licensed indications is available from sources such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the British National Formulary.

School Milk

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that rural, remote and small settings will continue to receive milk under the Nursery Milk scheme.

Daniel Poulter: Next Steps for Nursery Milk, published on 27 March, set out the Government’s plans to modernise the Nursery Milk Scheme. Ensuring supply to all eligible childcare settings will be a key consideration for the Department in developing the modernised scheme.

Standardised Packaging for Tobacco Independent Review

Richard Harrington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish his Department's impact assessment relating to the consultation into standardised tobacco packaging in a wider range of languages.

Jane Ellison: It is not Government practice to translate Impact Assessments. The consultation document itself was translated into several languages to raise awareness and to facilitate the response from a wide range of relevant stakeholders.

Telephone Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health under what timetable his Department plans to phase-out use of telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, 0844 and 0843 in accordance with the Cabinet Office guidance on customer service lines published in December 2013 and (b) 03 and 08, where 03 is the primary number under a dual numbering system.

Daniel Poulter: The Department will comply with the Cabinet Office timetable and guidelines regarding the use of non-geographical 0845, 0844 and 0843 numbers and treat the use of 03 prefix as a default policy position for the provision of core public services.

Viral Haemorrhagic Disease

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training and guidance on the Ebola virus has been issued to staff at airports and ports in Northern Ireland.

Jane Ellison: Advice for United Kingdom border force staff with regard to Ebola virus was developed by Public Health England and circulated by the Border Force to all UK ports, including those in Northern Ireland.

Viral Haemorrhagic Disease

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on precautionary measures to protect against the spread of the Ebola virus.

Jane Ellison: The Department holds regular meetings involving officials from all of the devolved Administrations in which they discuss current emergency preparedness issues. There are also meetings convened by Public Health England to ensure that all preparations are co-ordinated. Over the last few weeks, these discussions have included the response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa; including United Kingdom readiness in the event that cases arrive in one of our countries.

TREASURY

Aggregates Levy: Northern Ireland

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the European Commission to make a decision on the Aggregate Credit Levy scheme.

Priti Patel: On 7 August 2014, the European Commission released a short summary of their decision on the Aggregates Levy Credit scheme. The full decision will be released by the commission in the coming weeks once commercially sensitive information has been redacted.

Hotels: VAT

Henry Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals to reduce VAT to five per cent on hotel rooms.

David Gauke: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave on 11 February 2014, Official Report, columns 212-14WH.

Revenue and Customs

Ann McKechin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria were used to determine the location of new posts within the HM Revenue and Customs Debt Management Directorate.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs' Debt Management and Banking directorate has looked at existing capacity across its locations, specific functional requirements and IT infrastructure and used the availability of people and management to determine locations.

Revenue and Customs

Ann McKechin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the work of the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Debt Management Directorate can be carried out at any (a) HMRC office and (b) HMRC office currently used for the work of the Personal Tax Operations Directorate.

David Gauke: Wherever possible, HM Revenue and Customs aims to fill vacancies in the locations where its existing functions are already based. This is to ensure that suitable accommodation and IT is available and appropriate management to support new employees is in place on site.

Revenue and Customs: Glasgow

Ann McKechin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will confirm why HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) staff currently employed in the Personal Tax Operations Directorate office in Glasgow and who wish to be transferred to HMRC Debt Management Directorate are not allowed to continue to work in HMRC Glasgow offices.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) Debt Management & Banking Directorate is recruiting staff in locations across the country where it has specific functional requirements and the IT infrastructure to support the work.
	It has posts immediately available in East Kilbride and Cumbernauld. These jobs have been made available to all staff on fixed term appointments nationwide, including those currently working in Glasgow. Some of these members of staff have applied for jobs in East Kilbride and Cumbernauld. HMRC is continuing to look at options for the remaining staff within the Personal Tax line of business who want to continue their employment with HMRC.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

EU Law

John Redwood: To ask the Attorney-General how many new EU directives and regulations have been transposed into UK law by the Law Officers' Departments since May 2010.

Robert Buckland: The Law Officers' Departments have not transposed any EU directives or regulations into UK law since May 2010.

Fraud

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Attorney General how many Shawcross exercises have been conducted in relation to the SFO's investigations in the last two years.

Robert Buckland: None.

Police: Surveillance

Helen Goodman: To ask the Attorney-General what reasons the Crown Prosecution Service gave for its decision not to prosecute undercover police officers accused of starting sexual relationships with environmental activists.

Jeremy Wright: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will review any cases referred to it by the police in accordance with the two stage test that is set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors. Where there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and it is in the public interest, such cases will be prosecuted.
	The CPS has been working with officers conducting the Operation Herne investigation into the conduct of a number of officers.
	On 21 August 2014 the Crown Prosecution Service issued a statement containing the reasons it gave for not prosecuting officers considered under Operation Aubusson, a subset of Operation Herne which is available at:
	http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/latest_news/charging_decision_concerning_mps_special_demonstration_squad/

Prosecutions

Edward Garnier: To ask the Attorney General who the non-police prosecuting agencies are in England and Wales; and what each body's status and powers in law are as a prosecutor.

Robert Buckland: Where an offence does not specify a particular prosecutor, any person has the right to institute criminal proceedings and conduct a prosecution. This applies whether the person is acting in a purely personal capacity or in the course of his duties for a local authority, government department, business enterprise or other organisation. However, the vast majority of non-police prosecutions are conducted by the following public authorities. Due to the right of any legal person to institute criminal proceedings, this is not an exhaustive list:
	Crown Prosecution Service (“CPS”):
	Established by the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, the CPS is a non-ministerial government department, operating under the superintendence of the Attorney- General. In addition to prosecuting cases investigated by the police, the CPS prosecutes cases referred to it by DEFRA, Home Office immigration officials, HMRC, the National Crime Agency, the DWP, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, the Department for Health, the Food Standards Agency and the Child Maintenance Group.
	Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”):
	The SFO and its powers were created by the Criminal Justice Act 1987 (as amended). It is an independent government department, operating under the superintendence of the Attorney-General. Its purpose is to investigate and, if appropriate, prosecute those who commit serious or complex fraud, bribery and corruption and pursuing them and others for the proceeds of their crime.
	Service Prosecuting Authority (“SPA”):
	The SPA was formed by the Armed Forces Act 2006 on 1 January 2009. The role of the SPA is to review cases referred to it by the Service Police or Chain of Command and to prosecute appropriate cases at Courts Martial or the Service Civilian Court.
	Department for Business Innovation and Skills (“BIS”):
	The functions of the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform were transferred to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills by Order in 2009. BIS is the lead criminal enforcement agency for insolvency related fraud and associated corporate misconduct. It is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of offences on behalf of the Secretary of State under the Insolvency and Companies regimes, including bankruptcy offences and fraudulent trading.
	Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”):
	The CMA is an independent non-ministerial department. It was established by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 and took over many of the functions of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) together with those of the Competition Commission. In particular, under the Enterprise Act 2002, the CMA has the power to investigate and prosecute individuals for the cartel offence contrary to section 188 of that Act. The CMA also investigates and prosecutes offences under The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and The Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008.
	Companies House (“CA”):
	CA is an executive agency of BIS and has responsibility for prosecuting offences of failing to file annual accounts and annual returns under the Companies Act 1985 (as amended).
	Gambling Commission (“GC”):
	The GC was set up under the Gambling Act 2005 to regulate commercial gambling in Great Britain. It is an independent non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. GC has the power to investigate and prosecute offences under the Gambling Act 2005.
	Environment Agency (“EA”):
	EA is an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by DEFRA. Established in 1996 by the Environment Act 1995, it investigates and prosecutes environmental offences contained in both primary and secondary legislation.
	Food Standards Agency (“FSA”):
	Established by the Food Standards Act 1999, the FSA is a non-ministerial government department with the objective of protecting public health in relation to food. It investigates and prosecutes food safety and food hygiene offences that are contained in both primary and secondary legislation. Offences relating to animal welfare in abattoirs are prosecuted by the CPS.
	Health and Safety Executive (“HSE”):
	Established by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (“HSWA”), the HSE aims to protect the health, safety and welfare of people at work, and to safeguard others, mainly members of the public, who may be exposed to risks from the way work is carried out. This includes investigating and prosecuting offences under the HSWA and associated regulations.
	Office of the Rail Regulator (“ORR”):
	ORR is a non-ministerial government department. Established on 5 July 2004 by the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, ORR enforces health and safety law in relation to railways and prosecutes under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA), the Railways (Interoperability) Regulations 2011, the Rail Vehicle Accessibility (Non-Interoperable Rail System) Regulations 2010 and the Train Driving Licences and Certificates Regulations 2010.
	Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (“DVLA”):
	DVLA is an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Transport and prosecutes offences contained in the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 and associated regulations on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport.
	Driver Vehicle Standards Agency (“DVSA”):
	DVSA is an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Transport and aims to improve road safety in the U.K. It prosecutes under a range of primary and secondary legislation in relation to vehicle standards.
	The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (“MCA”):
	MCA is a UK executive agency sponsored by the Department for Transport. Its objectives are to prevent the loss of lives at sea implement British and International maritime law and safety policy. It investigates and prosecutes health and safety offences and offences contained in the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 and associated regulations.
	Local Authorities (“LA’s”):
	LA’s prosecute a broad range of offences from housing benefit fraud to trading standards and food hygiene offences.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

EU External Trade: USA

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the UK's policy is on EU negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; and what consultation his Department has had with the devolved administrations in formulating this policy.

Matthew Hancock: Securing significant progress on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations is a top priority for the Government’s trade agenda. We are pushing for a broad agreement that eliminates the vast majority of tariffs on trade between the two markets and reduces other unnecessary barriers to trade.
	Ministers in the Scottish and Welsh Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive, through regular Joint Ministerial Committee meetings, have an opportunity to input into the UK position, where appropriate, and Ministers have been kept abreast of development. Officials from the Devolved Administrations are also invited to frequent cross-Whitehall meetings on TTIP, and are in regular contact with trade policy officials in Whitehall.

EU Law

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many times the UK has lost EU infraction proceedings since May 2010 which relate to matters that fall within his Department's responsibility.

Matthew Hancock: Since May 2010 the UK has not lost any EU infraction proceedings falling within the responsibility of BIS.

Private Education

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans his Department has for increasing the role of private colleges in provision of further and higher education; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Clark: In September 2014 the Department will invite both new and existing alternative providers to apply to have new courses designated so that their students may have access for student support in the 2015/16 academic year. There will also be an additional opportunity for providers to apply in February 2015. For the 2015/16 academic year we will allow student numbers at high quality alternative providers to be freed from student number controls in a similar manner as for HEFCE-funded provision, but we will continue to retain a control on numbers at higher risk provision.

Students: Disadvantaged

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to widen access to and inclusion in further and higher education for mature, disadvantaged and other harder to reach students.

Greg Clark: This Government has been very clear about the importance of widening participation and improving fair access in higher education—all those with the ability should have access to higher education, irrespective of family income.
	In April we published the new ‘National strategy for access and student success’. It will help to ensure that all those with the potential to benefit from higher education have equal opportunity to participate and succeed. Our reforms and new funding methodology have ensured that institutions are investing significantly in widening student access to higher education. Through their access agreements with the Office for Fair Access, institutions plan by 2018/19 to increase their spending on outreach, student success and student financial support measures to £735 million, up from £444 million in 2011/12.
	Similarly it is important that young people and adults from disadvantaged groups are able to access good quality further education and skills training to help them to find employment, participate in their local community and to lead a more independent life.
	We provide 'Learning Support' funding to colleges and providers to help people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. We support unemployed people into work by funding units and qualifications in vocational skills, and we fully fund all adults to achieve their first English and maths GCSE. We contribute £210 million a year to support non-formal Community Learning, attracting disadvantaged groups and mature learners who have had very few previous opportunities to engage in education.

Telephone Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills under what timetable his Department plans to phase-out use of telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, 0844 and 0843 in accordance with the Cabinet Office guidance on customer service lines published in December 2013 and (b) 03 and 08, where 03 is the primary number under a dual numbering system.

Jo Swinson: All of the Department’s 0845, 0844 and 0843 numbers have now been replaced with 03 numbers and the 08 numbers will cease to be operational by the end of 2014. Telephone lines with dual numbering will also revert to the 03 number at the same time.

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMISSION

Television

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission how much the Public Accounts Commission spent on televisions in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

Edward Leigh: The Public Accounts Commission is a statutory committee with no operational functions. It has spent no money on televisions in 2013 or 2014.

CABINET OFFICE

Billing

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the value is of duplicate supplier payments identified by his Department since 2010; and what proportion of such payments have since been recovered in each of the last two financial years.

Francis Maude: The Cabinet Office identified duplicate payments worth £77,164 through the 2011/12 to 2012/13 payments review. All of the duplicate payments identified were recovered.

EU Law

John Redwood: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many times the UK has lost EU infraction proceedings since May 2010 which relate to matters that fall within his Department's responsibility.

Francis Maude: Since May 2010 the UK has not lost any EU infraction proceedings falling within the responsibility of the Cabinet Office.

Government Departments: Data Protection

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps the Government is taking to ensure the protection of personal data held by private companies operating Government-shared services.

Francis Maude: As with all outsourcing arrangements, security and information assurance measures are being implemented in line with the Government’s Information Assurance Standards, Good Practice Guides, Government Security Policy Framework and Data Protection Act. These Government security requirements were introduced under the previous Government and applied to outsourcing then. All shared services data will be handled, processed and transmitted in accordance with these security requirements, taking into consideration clients’ security policies.

Government Departments: Procurement

Meg Hillier: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of central Government procurement spend was with small and medium-sized enterprises on 21 August 2014.

Francis Maude: Overall Government spend with SMEs has increased from £3 billion in 2009/10 to £4.5 billion in 2012/13, putting us on track to deliver our aspiration of awarding 25% of central Government business to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by 2015. Figures for 2013-14 will be published in the autumn.

Public Sector: Business Interests

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether the Business Appointment Rules for public servants relate to (a) appointments in (i) NGOs, (ii) charities and (iii) other non-commercial organisations and (b) unpaid positions.

Francis Maude: The Business Appointment Rules apply to those people employed in civil service, the diplomatic service and members of the armed services, whether the employment is paid or unpaid.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Bahrain

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the Foreign Affairs Committee's recommendation in the Fifth Report of Session 2013-14, The UK's Relations with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, HC 88, paragraph 214, that Bahrain should be designated as a country of concern if no significant progress had been made by the start of 2014.

Tobias Ellwood: Bahrain is a country case study in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's human rights report, and as such we continue to monitor the human rights situation there and issue a biannual update. Bahrain's designation as a country case study in the 2013 FCO Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy Report strikes an appropriate balance between the undoubted progress made in some areas and our continuing concerns in others. We will review all countries with human rights issues in our preparation for the 2014 Annual Report, which will be published in early 2015. Bahrain is making substantial progress in respect of political reforms and will continue to receive our support.

Business: Human Rights

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which HM embassies and high commissions have a designated contact for the strategy for supporting human rights defenders working on issues related to business and human rights.

David Lidington: Our network of diplomatic posts provide support for human rights defenders on a full range of human rights issues, including business and human rights.

Business: Human Rights

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with which companies (a) Ministers in his Department and (b) HM embassies and high commissions have discussed the UK Action Plan on Business and Human Rights in the last year.

David Lidington: We regularly raise business and human rights, and the UK National Action Plan with a range of UK companies, trade associations and other relevant bodies at ministerial and official level, both in the UK and through our global network of diplomatic posts.

Business: Human Rights

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effects of the Government's Action Plan on Business and Human Rights in the last year on the (a) conduct, planning and composition of Ministerial-led trade delegations and (b) operations overseas of British businesses.

David Lidington: Following the publication of the National Action Plan (NAP), we have ensured that all trade delegations are briefed on business and human rights and that companies are made aware of relevant human rights risks and challenges relating to all markets. We have re-launched the Overseas Business Risk website to help companies mitigate business risk and seek to ensure, in accordance with the aims of the NAP, that the operations of all UK businesses, wherever they operate, respect their responsibilities for human rights.

Business: Human Rights

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken to improve access to remedies for victims of human rights abuses involving UK business operating overseas.

David Lidington: We are committed to improving access to remedy within the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights and we are also in close contact with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). This will be one of the themes for this year's United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights. We are also working on implementing our National Action Plan (NAP), which includes supporting projects on access to remedy through the Human Rights and Democracy Programme Fund (HRDPF) and advising companies on establishing or participating in grievance mechanisms, and will keep the UK provision of remedy under review.

Business: Human Rights

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support his Department has provided to help UK businesses uphold their responsibilities to international human rights in the last year.

David Lidington: The government continues to provide support and help to British companies worldwide. We have re-launched the Overseas Business Risk website to inform companies so that they may mitigate business risk in exports and investment overseas; issued guidance to all embassies and high commissions on how to conduct business and human rights overseas; worked with the financial sector to support focus on human rights reporting and increased transparency for investors; and we are due to launch guidance for the ICT sector on human rights risks related to cyber exports.

Israel

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a ban on the sales of UK arms to Israel.

Tobias Ellwood: We do not believe that imposing a blanket arms embargo on Israel would promote progress in the Middle East Peace Process. All countries, including Israel, have a legitimate right to self-defence, and the right to defend their citizens from attack. In doing so, it is vital that all actions are proportionate, in line with international humanitarian law, and are calibrated to avoid civilian casualties. Defence and security exports support states' legitimate right to self-defence, security and law and order. The UK has one of the most robust licensing systems in the world.

Middle East

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reason the UK abstained from voting on the motion entitled, Ensuring respect for international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem at the 21st Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council.

Tobias Ellwood: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend, the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) issued a press release on 23 July stating that:
	“Today's UN Human Rights Council resolution will not help achieve a lasting ceasefire. It is fundamentally unbalanced and will complicate the process by introducing unnecessary new mechanisms.
	The UK could not support this resolution, but recognising the strength of feeling about the loss of life and the desire by a large number of members of the Council to express that feeling in a resolution, the UK joined other EU nations in abstaining in the vote.”

Middle East

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the proposals for a lasting ceasefire in Gaza.

Tobias Ellwood: As I said in my statement of Tuesday 26 August welcoming the ceasefire agreement:
	“I welcome the agreement by all parties to a ceasefire. I pay tribute to the Government of Egypt for their work to secure this important step. The ceasefire provides a critical and welcome window of opportunity for reaching a comprehensive agreement, that tackles the underlying causes of the conflict.
	These discussions are not easy, but there is no viable alternative. The international community stands ready to assist.”

Qatar

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to address the treatment of workers in Qatar during the construction of World Cup 2022 venues.

Tobias Ellwood: I raised our concerns with the Qatari authorities on 24 July. We welcome the serious manner in which the Qatari Government is responding to concerns and fully support Qatar’s intention to reform the current labour law. We are encouraging the Government of Qatar to put forward a timetable for passing and implementing the proposed legislation and stand ready to support these efforts where we can.

Qatar

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the Government has had with Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy on the safety and wellbeing of migrant workers preparing that country for the 2022 World Cup.

Tobias Ellwood: We have raised our concerns about the safety and well-being of migrant workers with the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy at ministerial and ambassadorial level. We welcome the serious manner in which the Qatari Government is responding to concerns and fully support Qatar's intention to reform the current labour law. We are encouraging the Government of Qatar to put forward a timetable for passing and implementing the proposed legislation and stand ready to support these efforts where we can.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Billing

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the value is of duplicate supplier payments identified by his Department since 2010; and what proportion of such payments have since been recovered in each of the last two financial years.

Kris Hopkins: In my Department's publication “50 ways to save”, we asserted that councils could save money by conducting audits of potential duplicate payments and reforming accounts payable processes. This was based on research by Experian of both local and central government bodies.
	In the answer by my hon. Friend the Member for Great Yarmouth (Brandon Lewis) of 5 November 2013, Official Report, column 145W, it was noted how our Department has itself undertaken such best practice, and had duly recovered £61,301 of taxpayers' money from 20 duplicate payments for the period May 2010 to October 2013, apart from a sum of £257 which was not recoverable from three payments. A further £32,000 was recovered from historic duplicate payments made between 2006 and 2009. I also would note there were £7,018 of duplicate payments from January to April 2010.
	Since that answer, our ongoing internal processes have identified a further £7,492 from four transactions from November 2013 to March 2014, all of which have been recovered thanks to our strengthened checks.
	We have previously commissioned business analytics and information services firm, PRGX, to carry out a full spend-recovery audit on our accounts payable system and help us further improve and reform administrative practices. PRGX’s audit report has subsequently noted that 99.999% of the transaction value reviewed was processed correctly, and that:
	“DCLG have been effective in limiting supplier overpayments. The low rate of errors identified by the audit and statement request process indicates the current processes and controls continue to limit supplier overpayments.”
	This sizeable saving endorses what we said in “50 ways to save”: regularly checking for duplicate payments and putting systematic checks in place is a common-sense way of saving taxpayers' money in both local and central government.

Buildings

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been spent on refurbishing (a) gymnasium and leisure facilities, (b) cafeteria and (c) interior decoration in (i) his Department and (ii) buildings owned by his Department in (A) 2013 and (B) 2014 to date.

Kris Hopkins: The Department for Communities and Local Government has not spent any money on refurbishing gymnasium and leisure facilities, cafeterias and interior decoration during 2013 and 2014.
	This is in contrast to the record of the last Labour Government, which, for example, spent £134,503 in 2009-10 on luxury sofas by the Parisian designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, and a further £83,506 on a ‘serene green’ tranquillity room.

Correspondence

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has any plans to increase the number of replies within his Department's working day standard; and if he will make a statement.

Kris Hopkins: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 2 September 2014, Official Report, column 230W.
	DCLG aim to respond to all correspondence within 10 working days.

Non-domestic Rates

Simon Danczuk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what proportion of premises on the rating list have a rateable value of less than £50,000;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of how much of the government receipt from business rates forecast for 2014-15 will be contributed by businesses with a rateable value lower than £18,000;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of how much of the government receipt from business rates forecast for 2014-15 will be contributed by food and drink business with a rateable value lower than £50,000;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of how much of the government receipt from business rates forecast for 2014-15 will be contributed by businesses with a rateable value lower than £50,000.

Kris Hopkins: We have introduced a £1 billion business rate support package for 2014-15 including:
	a 2% cap in the Retail Price Index increase;
	a discount of £1,000 for around 300,000 shops, pubs and restaurants with rateable values below £50,000;
	doubling small business rate relief extended for another year benefitting over half a million businesses;
	a 50% discount for new occupants of long-term vacant shops; and
	allowing ratepayers to pay bills over 12 instalments.
	This package will benefit all businesses but particularly those with a lower rateable value. Local authority forecasts of business rates are not available split by rateable value threshold or business sector.
	As at 31 March 2013, 89% of hereditaments had a rateable value of £50,000 or lower. As at 31 March 2013, large properties (those with a rateable value equal to or greater than £50,000) account for 72% of rateable value. These data are taken from the Valuation Office Agency’s disclosure log, available at the following link:
	http://www.voa.gov.uk/corporate/About/Policy/disclosureLogResponses2013.html

Performance Appraisal

Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff employed by his Department received each level of performance rating in their end of year performance assessment for 2013-14.

Kris Hopkins: The following table provides a summary of the performance results for non-Senior Civil Service staff for whom the DCLG process applied, where disability has been declared, and whose performance markings have been entered into the HR database:
	
		
			 Number of staff Exceptional Good Development Needed 
			 Not Disabled 217 824 94 
			 Disabled 7 45 15 
		
	
	Due to changes in methodology in the manner in which such assessments are undertaken, these figures are not comparative with those given to the hon. Member in the answer to her of 4 November 2013, Official Report, column 22W.
	The small sample sizes may mean the results are not statistically significant. We will be undertaking further analysis of the wider performance outcomes across both performance years and all protected characteristics. We will consider whether action is required to address any clear findings.
	The Department provides a reasonable adjustments service, which has recently been subject to a review, to allow staff to ensure that a person with a disability is not put at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled persons generally, who work under the same conditions. The Department’s Disability Champion also continues to work closely with the Disability Staff Network in raising awareness of disability issues to the wider Department.

Vacancies: Greater London

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate the Department has made of the number of private sector vacancies in London.

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to bring empty (a) residential and (b) commercial properties back into use.

Stephen Williams: Reflecting commitments made in the coalition agreement, getting empty and redundant buildings back into use is a key priority for this Government. Under the coalition Government, the number of empty homes in England has so far fallen to a 10 year low:
	The number of long-term empty homes has fallen by a third from 316,251 in October 2009 to 216,050 in October 2013.
	The overall number of empty homes (all types) has fallen by a fifth from 770,496 in October 2009 to 635,127 in October 2013.
	In London, the number of empty homes has fallen by a third, from 85,062 in October 2009 to 59,313 in October 2013.
	A breakdown by local authority, including public sector tenure, can be found in Live Table 615.
	www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants
	But there is more to do. The coalition Government has a comprehensive package of policies to help get empty homes and buildings back into use. They include:
	Funding a £235 million empty homes programme to help local communities in restoring empty properties, both residential and commercial, and helping provide new homes.
	Rewarding councils for bringing empty homes back into use through the New Homes Bonus. Since April 2011, councils have received over £2.2 billion for bringing empty homes back into residential occupation.
	Giving councils new powers to remove council tax subsidies to empty homes, and use the funds to keep the overall rate of council tax down. HM Treasury have also changed tax rules to discourage the use of corporate envelopes to invest in high value housing which may be left empty or under-used to avoid paying tax.
	Cancelling the Labour Government’s Pathfinder programme which sought to demolish homes, instead of focusing on refurbishment and getting empty homes into use. We have taken forward the best practice guidance produced by our independent adviser, George Clarke, and embedded it in our housing programme funding schemes.
	Reforming Community Infrastructure Levy rules to provide an increased incentive for brownfield development, and extending exemptions for empty buildings being brought back into use. We have also been consulting on proposals to lift Section 106 burdens on vacant buildings being returned to use.
	Introducing the Right to Contest, building on our existing Community Right to Reclaim Land, which lets communities ask that under-used or unused land owned by public bodies is brought back into beneficial use. This new right applies to sites currently in use, but are not vital for operations. It gives businesses and members of the public an opportunity to challenge government on the best use of its estate.
	Reforming permitted development rights in a number of ways to free up the planning system and facilitate the conversion of redundant and under-used non-residential buildings into new homes.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Television

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Leader of the House how much his Office spent on the purchase of televisions in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

William Hague: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons is part of the Cabinet Office. Our answer is included in the response by the Minister for the Cabinet Office.

JUSTICE

Coroners

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions since May 2010 a Rule 43 ruling has been used in coronial verdicts.

Simon Hughes: The Ministry of Justice had responsibility for reports made under rule 43 of the Coroners Rules 1984 (as amended) until 31 March 2013 when responsibility was transferred to the Chief Coroner. In coroner reform legislation implemented on 25 July 2013 Rule 43 reports were superseded by reports to prevent future deaths. As set out in the following table, a total of 1,952 reports made under rule 43 of the Coroners Rules 1984 (as amended) and reports to prevent future deaths were issued by coroners between 1 April 2010 and 25 July 2014.
	A summary of reports made from 17 July 2008 (when the 1984 Rules were amended) to 31 March 2013 is available at:
	https://www.justice.gov.uk/coroners-burial-cremation/coroners/rule-43
	A summary of reports made from 1 April to 30 September 2013 is available at:
	http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/related-offices-and-bodies/office-chief-coroner/summary-of-reports-to-pfds/
	which is the website where the Chief Coroner will in due course publish information on the number of reports issued since 30 September 2013.
	
		
			 Reporting period Number of reports issued 
			 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010 175 
			 1 October 2010 to 31 March 2011 189 
			 1 April 2011 to 30 September 2011 210 
			 1 October 2011 to 31 March 2012 233 
			 1 April 2012 to 30 September 2012 186 
			 1 October 2012 to 31 March 2013 235 
			 1 April 2013 to 30 September 2013 244 
			 1 October 2013 to 25 July 20141 480 
		
	
	
		
			 Total 1,952 
			 1 Not yet published by the Chief Coroner’s office.

Drugs: Sentencing

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been sentenced to prison as a result of possession of illegal substances, by class of substance, since 2010.

Michael Penning: The number of offenders found guilty and sentenced to immediate custody at all courts for offences of possession of a controlled drug, broken down by class of drug, in England and Wales, from 2009 to 2013, can be viewed in the table.
	
		
			 Offenders found guilty and sentenced at all courts for possession of a controlled drug1, by class of drug, England and Wales, 2009 to 20132,3,4 
			 Class of Drug Outcome 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 Class A Found guilty 13,742 12,254 10,702 9,793 9,554 
			  Sentenced 13,670 12,175 10,599 9,707 9,426 
			  of which:      
			  Immediate custody 776 779 630 573 545 
			        
			 Class B Found guilty 21,788 29,450 30,836 28,870 27,808 
			  Sentenced 21,610 29,251 30,179 28,710 27,535 
			  of which:      
			  Immediate custody 371 500 622 557 541 
			        
			 Class C Found guilty 5,796 1,687 1,605 1,173 1,157 
			  Sentenced 5,798 1,709 1,617 1,167 1,159 
			  of which:      
			  Immediate custody 127 60 79 31 55 
			        
			 Class unspecified Found guilty 16 15 19 0 0 
			  Sentenced 27 23 21 0 0 
			  of which:      
			  Immediate custody 13 3 2 0 0 
			 1 An offence under Section 5(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. 2 The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 3 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 4 The number of offenders sentenced can differ from those found guilty as it may be the case that a defendant found guilty in a particular year, and committed for sentence at the Crown Court, may be sentenced in the following year. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Nature Conservation: Crime

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been (a) arrested, (b) cautioned, (c) proceeded against and (d) convicted of an offence under the provisions of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 in each year since their enactment.

Michael Penning: The number of offenders cautioned and defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts of offences under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 (which came into force on 1 April 2010), in England and Wales, from 2010 to 2013 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.
	Arrest data is not held by the Ministry of Justice.
	
		
			 Offenders cautioned1 and defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty all courts for offences under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010, England and Wales, 2010 to 20132, 3 
			 Outcome 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 Cautions 0 0 0 0 
			 Proceeded against 0 1 3 6 
		
	
	
		
			 Found guilty 0 0 3 3 
			 1 From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and warnings. These figures have been included in the totals. 2 The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been cautioned for or found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 3 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Note: Regulations came into force on 1 April 2010 Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice.

Sentencing

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department has spent on providing non-stipendiary magistrates with electronic copies of Sentencing Guidelines and updates thereof free of charge; and what plans his Department has to provide non-stipendiary magistrates with electronic copies of Sentencing Guidelines and updates thereof free of charge.

Michael Penning: The Government Electronic versions of all sentencing guidelines and updates are currently available at no cost on the Council's website:
	www.sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk
	The cost incurred in producing these electronic versions of the Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Guidelines is minimal and arises from the staff time from the Ministry of Justice design team and the staff time of the Office of the Sentencing Council.
	By spring 2015, as part of the digitisation of the criminal justice system, magistrates will be able to access sentencing guidelines via a link from a hand-held device to the Sentencing Council’s website. This will ensure that magistrates will always have access to the most up to date version of the guidelines.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Gaza

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what help she plans to give to children in Gaza who require support to deal with trauma related to bombing.

Desmond Swayne: More than half of DFID’s £3 million Rapid Response Facility is supporting the provision of health and psycho-social care for women and children. DFID also supports the UN Relief and Works Agency, who are deploying counsellors to all Gaza shelters to mitigate the impact of psychological trauma sustained by civilians.

Bost Agricultural Business Park

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development for what reasons she decided to end her Department's role in the Bost agricultural business park project in Afghanistan in 2012.

Justine Greening: The Bost Agricultural Business Park was approved in 2009 at a time when Ministers did not approve spend under £40 million. In 2012 it became clear that the project would not be completed within the original timeframe and in good order. To avoid wasting taxpayers' money I decided that further UK funding should be cancelled.

Afghanistan

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 10 July 2014, Official Report, column 414W, on Afghanistan and with reference to the answer of 5 September 2013, Official Report, column 461W, on Afghanistan, for what reasons she considers the publication of official agreements signed by her Department to be covered by her Department's policy on the publication of internal discussions;
	(2)  what Memorandum of Understanding was reached between USAID and her Department on the transfer of the Bost Agri Park and Bost Airfield from USAID control to her Department's control in 2009.

Justine Greening: The Bost industrial business park proposal was originally approved by officials in 2009 at a time when Ministers did not approve spend under £40 million. In 2012 it became clear that the project could no longer be completed within the original timeframe and in good order. To avoid wasting taxpayers’ money I decided that UK funding for the project should be cancelled. The completed park designs have been handed over to the Afghan authorities to enable them to pursue the project over a revised time frame. DFID’s work on Bost Airfield was completed in November 2013.
	There was no Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2009.

Buildings

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will review her departmental estate in order to reduce costs; and if she will make a statement.

Desmond Swayne: DFID has reviewed its UK estate which resulted in a move from 1 Palace Street, Victoria to 22 Whitehall. The move was completed on time and more than £1 million under budget.
	The relocation will save HMG £62.5 million in rent and rates by 2020. The move also heralded a new, more business-like approach from the department, with more efficient use of office space and flexible working practices saving even more money in the longer term.

EU Law

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many times the UK has lost EU infraction proceedings since May 2010 which relate to matters that fall within her Department's responsibility.

Lynne Featherstone: There have been no EU infraction proceedings against the UK in matters that fall within my Department’s responsibility.

Malawi

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make UK aid to Malawi conditional on the repeal of laws which discriminate against LGBT people; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: The UK is not currently providing any aid to the Government of Malawi. At the end of 2013, the UK suspended all funding going through Malawi government systems following revelations of wide-spread fraud and corruption involving public finances.

St Helena

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the new airport terminal on St Helena will be equipped with (a) a biosecurity scanner and (b) a secure biosecurity facility.

Desmond Swayne: The Department for International Development is currently considering proposals from the St Helena Government on biosecurity management at the new airport terminal building, including the use of a biosecurity scanner and any associated facilities.

St Helena

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken to protect the mole spider population at Bradleys in the airport development area of St Helena.

Desmond Swayne: No construction work is planned within the mole spider habitat at Bradley’s and the area is protected from any construction-related activity. Environmental officers carry out checks to ensure compliance.

St Helena

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what change there has been in energy prices on St Helena in each of the last four years; and what estimate she has made of changes in such prices in each of the next three years.

Desmond Swayne: From April 2010 to April 2014 the unit price of electricity per kilowatt hour in St Helena increased by 2.5p, 1.75p, 1.9p and 0.8p in each respective financial year: increasing the unit price for median consumption rates over this period from 15p to 22p per kilowatt hour.
	Future energy prices on St Helena will be decided by the island’s private utility company and regulator.

Tanzania

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which companies in Tanzania have received how much in funding from her Department since 2010.

Lynne Featherstone: Information on DFID’s projects in Tanzania is available on the Development Tracker website:
	http://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/
	A more detailed breakdown cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate costs.

Uganda

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make UK development aid to Uganda conditional on the repeal of laws in that country which discriminate against LGBT people; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: The UK suspended all budget support to the Government of Uganda in 2013. After the Anti-Homosexuality Act was passed we assessed our programme to ensure that UK aid was not being provided to organisations that proactively and publically promoted the legislation.
	The UK welcomes the decision of the Ugandan Constitutional Court to annul the Anti-Homosexuality Act.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Procurement

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities how much and what proportion of the Government Equalities Office's budget was spent on activities which were contracted out in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13 and (e) 2013-14; and how much and what proportion of the Government Equalities Office's budget he expects to be contracted out in 2014-15.

Jo Swinson: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given on 2 September 2014, Official Report, column 201W, by the Minister for Sport and Tourism, the hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Mrs Grant). The figures for 2013-14 and 2014-15 for DCMS included figures for the Government Equalities Office (GEO). Within those totals, the figures for the GEO are:
	
		
			 Financial year Contracted-out expenditure (£000) Proportion of contracted-out expenditure to Budget (percentage) 
			 Actuals   
			 2013-14 2,252 *26 
			    
			 Forecast   
			 2014-15 2,782 42 
			 * The percentage value is calculated against a proportion of the GEO budget which excludes grant payments and internal payment transfers between Departments. Note: For prior years the Department does not hold this information, as the GEO used the expertise of the Home Office and Government Procurement Service.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Employment and Support Allowance

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average time was between (a) an employment and support allowance applicant submitting an ESA 50 questionnaire and undergoing a work capability assessment, (b) an employment and support allowance applicant undergoing a work capability assessment and advice being submitted to a decision-maker and (c) advice being submitted to a decision-maker and a decision being issued to an employment and support allowance applicant in each year since 2008.

Mark Harper: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Employment and Support Allowance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many mandatory reconsideration periods for employment and support allowance his Department has conducted to date; what the outcomes were of each such case; and what the (a) shortest, (b) average and (c) longest periods were.

Mark Harper: The Department is collecting information to understand how the introduction of mandatory reconsideration is operating, including completion timescales. However, this data is not sufficiently robust and reliable to make available.
	The Department has committed to publishing the statistics when the Departmental Statisticians judge that the data meet the standards set out in the UK Statistics Authorities Codes of Practice.

Independent Living Fund

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will undertake a separate impact assessment of the closure of the Independent Living Fund on demand for (a) NHS and (b) social care services.

Mark Harper: The Equality Analysis setting out the implications of closing the Independent Living Fund was published on 6 March 2014.

Jobcentre Plus

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many computers have been installed for use in Jobcentre Plus offices in the UK in 2014-15; and what estimate he has made of the number of computers so installed by the end of the current financial year.

Esther McVey: The Digital Jobcentres project is modernising the Jobcentre digital infrastructure by delivering wi-fi and web access devices (WADs) across the Jobcentre network. From now until the end of October, we will be installing wi-fi and new web access devices (WADs) across the Jobcentre network. By the end of October, around 6,000 WADs will have been installed in jobcentres across the UK.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what average length of time his Department takes to process applications for hardship payments; and what targets he has set for the processing of such claims.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available. Our expectation is that claimants who are vulnerable will receive a hardship payment, if appropriate, within three days of them requesting hardship. We have no targets for the processing of hardship applications.

Personal Independence Payment

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what mean length of time between a personal independence payment claim being registered and a decision being made was on (a) claims not made under special rules for terminally ill people and (b) claims made under special rules for terminally ill people where the decision was taken between April 2013 and March 2014.

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the average waiting time for personal independence payments assessments in each of the last 12 months;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of applicants for personal independence payments who have waited longer than 26 weeks for an assessment in each of the last 12 months.

Mark Harper: Statistics on the time taken to clear cases are intended for future publication and the Department's analysts are currently considering what information will be included in the release.

Personal Independence Payment

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people with Parkinson's disease (a) have applied for personal independence payments (PIPs), (b) are receiving PIPs and (c) have been refused PIPs.

Mark Harper: Available data does not provide the number of people with Parkinson's disease who have (a) applied for Personal Independence Payment (b) are receiving Personal Independence Payment (c) have been refused Personal Independence Payment. However, published statistics show that at February 2014 there were 2,831 people entitled to PIP for Neurological Conditions, which would include those who have Parkinson's disease.

Social Security Benefits

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made on making statistics on mandatory reconsiderations for jobseeker's allowance and employment and support allowance publicly available.

Mark Harper: DWP statisticians are currently working to collate and quality assure data on Mandatory Reconsideration for Employment and Support Allowance as a matter of urgency. The Department has committed to publishing the statistics when the Departmental statisticians judge that the data meet the standards set out in the UK Statistics Authority’s Codes of Practice.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether people with mental health conditions may be refused disability benefits on the grounds that their condition does not require the use of aides.

Mark Harper: Eligibility for the two main working age disability benefits—Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)—is assessed through two separate assessments. However, common to both is that they look at disabled people as individuals, and do not label them by their health condition, impairment or disability.
	The PIP assessment considers the impact of an individual’s condition on their ability to carry out some key everyday activities. Similarly ESA looks to determine not what condition an individual has but rather how that condition impacts on the individual’s functional capacity to work.
	Both assessments include descriptors which take account of physical, sensory, mental, intellectual and cognitive impairments. Claimants for either benefit—whether with a mental health condition, physical condition or both—will not be refused benefit simply because they do not require an aide, advocate or appointee.

Telephone Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under what timetable his Department plans to phase out use of telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, 0844 and 0843 in accordance with the Cabinet Office guidance on customer service lines published in December 2013 and (b) 03 and 08, where 03 is the primary number under a dual numbering system.

Esther McVey: DWP has committed to introduce 0345 numbers and this started on major helplines in March 2014. The Department does not operate any prefixes that begin with 0844 or 0843.
	For its inquiry helplines, the Department will begin adding the choice of 0345 numbers to their 0845 helplines where its customers call for other reasons, and these are calls that typically take less time to resolve.
	Ofcom proposals for implementing change to 08 numbers are due to be implemented in June 2015. The changes result in improved charge transparency for some non-geographic numbers including 0845. DWP will monitor the impact these changes have on 08 charges.

Work Programme

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 8 April 2014, Official Report, column 220W, on the Work Programme, what the cost is of paying a second attachment fee for persons transferred from Newcastle College to new providers; and what other additional costs his Department incurs as a result of that transfer.

Esther McVey: It is not possible to release financial data below the national level within the duration of the Work programme, as this could put at risk some of the commercial in confidence elements of the contracts.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Global Radio

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will investigate the time taken by Ofcom to come to a decision on complaints submitted in 2013 about unapproved format changes to the Choice FM radio station now operated by Global Radio; and what information he holds on when Ofcom plans to respond to those complaints.

Edward Vaizey: This is an operational matter for Ofcom, the independent communications regulator. DCMS officials have spoken to Ofcom and have been informed that Ofcom has been investigating complaints about the current output of Choice FM and, in doing so, has had to consider a significant amount of material. Ofcom is currently finalising its decision and will publish this very shortly.

Lotteries

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what occasions Ministers from his Department have met (a) representatives of society lotteries and (b) representatives of Camelot or the National Lottery since December 2012.

Helen Grant: Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the gov.uk website and are available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?keywords=& publication_filter_option=transparency-data&topics%5B%5D =all&departments%5B%5D=department-for-culture-media-sport&official_document_status=all&world_locations%5B%5D =all&from_date=&to_date

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Subsidies

Rory Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms in Cumbria which received payments under the (a) Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowance, (b) Sheep Annual Premium Scheme, (c) Hill Farm Allowance and (d) Uplands Entry Level Stewardship Scheme in each of the last 30 years; and what aggregate local payments were made under each scheme in each such year.

George Eustice: The Rural Payments Agency does not hold assured data for the time period and area requested. As the majority of these schemes ended some time ago, and a new finance system was introduced in the intervening period, extracting this historic information is not possible.
	The agency does not hold this level of historic payment information for Uplands Entry Level Stewardship.

Food Supply Networks Review

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to Lord Rooker of 11 August 2014, HL1378, on the food supply networks review, for what reasons Professor Elliott's final report on horsemeat fraud and the food supply networks review has not yet been published; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: The Government believes that the report is important, which is why the Secretary of State wanted to review it thoroughly and meet Professor Elliott before its publication. The Government also wanted to publish the report when Parliament was sitting. Professor Elliott's report is due to be published soon.

Slaughterhouses

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will commission a study to assess the extent of mis-stunning at the point of animal slaughter in the UK.

George Eustice: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Finchley and Golders Green (Mike Freer) on 1 April 2014, Official Report, column 600W.

Telephone Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under what timetable her Department plans to phase-out use of telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, 0844 and 0843 in accordance with the Cabinet Office guidance on customer service lines published in December 2013 and (b) 03 and 08, where 03 is the primary number under a dual numbering system.

Dan Rogerson: Core DEFRA operates three telephone lines under a dual numbering system with the prefix 0345 as the primary number. In accordance with Cabinet Office guidance, the 0845 prefix numbers have been retained for these lines to allow callers a choice based on their call package arrangements. There are no plans to phase out either the 0845 or 0345 prefixed numbers.

Television

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department spent on the purchase of televisions in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

Dan Rogerson: The Core Department has spent the following amounts on televisions in the periods specified:
	(a) £1,559
	(b) £376

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Absence Without Leave

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers were recorded as AWOL in each of the last five years; and how many such soldiers were aged (a) 18, (b) 19 and (c) 21 years at the time of going absent.

Anna Soubry: Absent Without Leave (AWOL) information is recorded by the Royal Military Police on their REDCAP system. The number of soldiers recorded as AWOL in each of the last five completed calendar years is:
	
		
			  2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 Total 2,135 1,991 1,457 1,062 815 
		
	
	Each incidence of AWOL is recorded as a separate entry. As such if an individual has been AWOL three times during a year this will be recorded as three separate instances of AWOL.
	To provide the age of each individual would require a manual check of every AWOL record and as such could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Telephone Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence under what timetable his Department plans to phase-out use of telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, 0844 and 0843 in accordance with the Cabinet Office guidance on customer service lines published in December 2013 and (b) 03 and 08, where 03 is the primary number under a dual numbering system.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence's (MOD) customer service lines cover a number of areas in three main categories:
	(1) Services for Veterans are provided through a well-publicised free help line (0808 1914 2 18);
	(2) Services for existing military staff are available on the MOD network. However, on those occasions where staff or their families need to call from outside the MOD, there are free (eg Army Welfare and Service Family Accommodation), national rate or business rate lines; and
	(3) Potential recruits have a choice of ways to communicate with our careers staff, with increasing emphasis on Digital tools such as Live Chat and Social Media. Careers lines for the Army are now 03, and for the RAF both 0845 and 03. Royal Navy Careers are currently business rate (0845), but 03 numbers will be imminently available.
	The MOD does of course have many other numbers, which are geographic or business rate (including the number for low flying complaints).

EDUCATION

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much pupil premium funding has been allocated to each borough in Lancashire in each year since that scheme's introduction.

David Laws: The Department for Education does not hold pupil premium allocations broken down by borough. Pupil premium allocations are published each year at top tier local authority, constituency and school level. The allocations for each year are available online at:
	2014-15
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2014-to-2015-illustrative-allocation-tables
	2013-14
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20131216163513/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2013-to-2014-final-allocation-tables
	2012-13
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20131216163513/http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/a00200697/pupil-premium-2012-13
	2011-12
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20131216163513/http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/settlement2012pupilpremium/a0075963/pupil-premium-2011-12
	The pupil premium allocations for Lancashire for each year going back to its introduction in 2011-12 are: £45.9 million in 2014-15 (provisional based on illustrative pupil numbers), £37.1 million in 2013-14, £21.7 million in 2012-13, and £12.4 million in 2011-12.

TRANSPORT

Dangerous Driving

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a charge of killing or injuring someone through a hit and run.

Robert Goodwill: We do not believe it is necessary to create a specific offence of killing or injuring someone during a hit and run incident. This is because a range of offences and penalties already exist to deal with offences committed on the roads and this can include manslaughter in appropriate cases. The offence of causing death by dangerous driving carries a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment. In 2012 the Government also introduced a new offence of causing serious injury through dangerous driving which carries a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment.

Dangerous Driving

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many recorded hit and run incidents involving (a) injury and (b) death there have been in each of the last five years.

Robert Goodwill: The numbers of reported personal injury road accidents involving at least one hit and run driver by accident severity for the years 2009 to 2013 are shown in the table.
	
		
			 Number of reported personal injury accidents involving at least one hit and run driver, by severity: GB, 2009-2013 
			 Number of accidents involving at least one hit and run driver 
			  Fatal Serious Slight Total 
			 2009 78 1,569 15,382 17,029 
			 2010 57 1,465 14,879 16,401 
			 2011 73 1,610 15,160 16,843 
			 2012 75 1,579 14,008 15,662 
			 2013 57 1,448 13,885 15,390

East Anglia Railway Line

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  on how many occasions engineering works carried out by Network Rail on the London Liverpool Street - Chelmsford - Colchester - Ipswich railway line have overrun causing disruption to the service in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what sanctions have been imposed on Network Rail as a result of engineering works overrunning and causing disruption to the rail service on the London Liverpool Street - Chelmsford - Colchester - Ipswich railway line in the last five years;
	(3)  what sanctions are taken against Network Rail when engineering works overrun causing disruption to the rail network;
	(4)  what steps are being taken to minimise the overrunning of engineering works on the London Liverpool Street - Chelmsford - Colchester - Ipswich railway line.

Claire Perry: Network Rail is responsible for the day to day operation of the rail network and the delivery of enhancements. The independent regulator, the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) will continue to monitor closely Network Rail’s performance delivery on the Anglia route, which will cover all the causes of delay, including the impact of overrunning engineering works.
	The Track Access Contracts between Network Rail and train operators provide for Network Rail to pay compensation to an operator in the event that train services cannot operate or are delayed due to engineering works or disruption outside that operator’s control. The Department for Transport does not hold details of the timing or number of such payments, which are a commercial matter between the parties directly concerned, overseen by the ORR. The ORR publishes the annual totals of these payments at route level on its data portal:
	https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/displayreport/report/html/345da3b9-b9ac-449a-aace-8298c5b39e2b
	The ORR concluded its assessment of Network Rail’s performance between 2009 and 2014 in July. Since Network Rail did not deliver its funded obligations, and to address issues which have disrupted services for passengers, the company has committed at least £25 million extra funds to improve the resilience of the network in London and the South East, with plans to be in place by December. In the Long Distance sector, the company fell significantly short of its funded target. Under an order made by the ORR in 2012, taking account of issues beyond Network Rail's control, the company has been asked to return £53.1 million to funders for failure to deliver its agreed obligations in 2013-14. The Government is reinvesting this sum to improve on-train mobile services for passengers.

Insurance

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions he has met representatives of the insurance industry in the last 12 months; and what issues were discussed at those meetings.

Robert Goodwill: The Secretary of State has not personally met with the insurance industry in the past year. However, I regularly meet with insurers to discuss road safety and how we can make motor insurance more affordable to the public.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Fracking

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many fracking project licences the Government has issued.

Matthew Hancock: There is no such thing as a fracking project licence.

Green Deal Scheme

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  how much has been allocated to each local authority area under the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund;
	(2)  how much was allocated in each Lancashire borough under the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund.

Amber Rudd: The Department published the number of Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF) active applications, vouchers issued and payments made up to the end of July 2014, in the latest monthly Official Statistics:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/green-deal-and-energy-company-obligation-eco-monthly-statistics-august-2014
	Currently, the Department has not published any geographic breakdowns on the GDHIF, as these would form part of the more detailed quarterly series:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/green-deal-and-energy-company-obligation-eco-statistics#quarterly-statistics
	Therefore, the Department will consider publishing geographic breakdowns relating to GDHIF in the following quarterly release planned for publication on 18 December, covering the period up to the end of September 2014.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Campsfield House Immigration Removal Centre

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department informed Campsfield House operators Mitie of the advice of the Oxfordshire Fire Service that sprinklers should be fitted there.

Karen Bradley: The Chief Fire Officer of Oxfordshire wrote to the previous operator of Campsfield House, GEO, in 2007. Mitie were not made aware of this correspondence before the incident last year. Following the incident, sprinklers have now been fitted throughout the centre.

Dangerous Driving

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recorded hit and run incidents where the driver was (a) caught and (b) not caught there have been in each of the last five years.

Michael Penning: The Home Office does not hold data specifically on hit and run incidents, as these cannot be separately identified from other offences for which the Home Office does hold data. As a result, data cannot be provided on the number of these incidents where the driver has or has not been caught.

Driving Offences: Mobile Phones

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices were issued in each region and constituent part of the UK for use of hand-held mobile telephones whilst driving in each of the last five years.

Michael Penning: Available data on the total number of fixed penalty notices issued in each region and in England and Wales, for the use of a hand-held mobile phone whilst driving offence for the years 2008 to 2012, are published within the fixed penalty notices tables within the police powers and procedures, England and Wales, 2012/13 statistical release:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tables-for-police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales-2012-to-2013
	For easy reference, data are also provided in the table. Figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland are not collected by the Home Office.
	
		
			 Total fixed penalty notices issued in each region and England and Wales for the use of a hand-held mobile phone whilst driving offence for the years 2008 to 20121, 2, 3 
			  2008 2009 2010 2011  2011p 2012p 
			 London 9,088 7,882 8,177 14,590  25,219 20,963 
			 West Midlands 12,322 12,190 11,294 9,729  9,276 4,545 
			 East Midlands 8,280 8,579 8,611 7,710  7,590 4,948 
			 East of England 18,374 19,074 17,171 15,764  14,845 11,579 
			 North East 4,140 4,653 4,741 3,731  3,607 2,856 
			 North West 19,417 22,370 23,311 20,662  20,052 16,844 
			 South East 19,879 20,491 18,398 15,161  14,656 10,784 
			 South West 7,722 8,868 9,185 7,998  7,640 6,028 
			 Yorkshire & The Humber 12,167 13,056 14,619 12,161  11,949 7,738 
			 England Total 111,389 117,163 115,507 107,506  114,834 86,285 
			 Wales 7,281 8,355 9,221 8,638  8,303 6,380 
			 1 Data for 2011 and 2012 extracted from PentiP (denoted by 'Pentip' or 'p' after the year in question) are not directly comparable with data from the previous system and are separated by a blank column. 2 Use of a hand-held mobile phone while driving was introduced as a specific offence from December 2003. 3 Wales Road Casualty Reduction Partnership. These figures include all camera-detected FPNs dealt with in the Dyfed-Powys, Gwent and South Wales police force areas. They cannot currently be separated on the PentiP system.

Police: Road Traffic Control

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many traffic police officers were employed in each police force area in each of the last five years.

Michael Penning: The requested data has been published for each year for 2012 to 2014 as part of the July Police Workforce publication, but for ease of reference, the data for the last five years have been drawn together into a single table.
	The table provided shows the number of full-time equivalent police officers within the traffic function for each police force area in England and Wales, as at 31 March 2010 to 31 March 2014. Staff with multiple responsibilities (or designations) are recorded under their primary role or function.
	
		
			 Number of full-time equivalent1 police officers within the traffic function2, 3 in England and Wales, as at 31 March 2010 to 31 March 20144 
			  2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 
			 Avon & Somerset 157 147 130 101 96 
			 Bedfordshire 57 56 52 47 46 
			 Cambridgeshire 101 95 86 85 76 
			 Cheshire 90 76 109 106 89 
			 Cleveland 115 113 102 100 92 
			 Cumbria 86 87 84 87 82 
			 Derbyshire 88 84 75 69 65 
			 Devon & Cornwall 239 235 0 0 57 
			 Dorset 76 63 52 50 47 
			 Durham 96 91 93 90 83 
			 Dyfed-Powys 84 83 78 81 77 
			 Essex5 257 227 229 217 76 
			 Gloucestershire 65 62 60 53 48 
			 Greater Manchester 310 296 282 284 248 
			 Gwent 63 63 72 73 60 
			 Hampshire 181 172 159 150 145 
			 Hertfordshire 139 132 124 110 99 
			 Humberside 116 115 110 103 96 
			 Kent 138 138 124 112 101 
			 Lancashire 171 159 155 145 142 
			 Leicestershire 86 75 73 67 66 
			 Lincolnshire 84 79 71 71 71 
			 London, City of 30 34 31 24 25 
			 Merseyside 164 176 161 148 136 
			 Metropolitan Police 297 301 331 306 264 
			 Norfolk 103 101 100 96 95 
			 Northamptonshire 68 63 61 59 59 
			 Northumbria 189 153 170 144 151 
			 North Wales 88 83 69 67 70 
			 North Yorkshire 99 107 99 85 96 
			 Nottinghamshire 47 43 36 16 15 
			 South Wales 143 140 131 125 130 
			 South Yorkshire 130 121 118 107 111 
			 Staffordshire 67 61 52 58 49 
			 Suffolk 67 65 56 92 88 
			 Surrey 100 89 94 99 96 
			 Sussex 159 160 150 144 139 
			 Thames Valley 228 219 207 209 203 
		
	
	
		
			 Warwickshire 10 10 25 39 37 
			 West Mercia 101 88 83 83 80 
			 West Midlands 351 298 276 286 282 
			 West Yorkshire 315 296 236 238 225 
			 Wiltshire 83 76 66 50 44 
			 Total England and Wales 5,635 5,329 4,868 4,675 4,356 
			 1 This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been presented to the nearest whole number. 2 Traffic function includes staff who are predominantly employed on motor-cycles or in patrol vehicles for the policing of traffic and motorway related duties. This includes officers employed in accident investigation, vehicle examination and radar duties. Also includes staff who are predominantly employed to support the traffic function of the force including radar, accident investigation, vehicle examination and traffic administration. Includes those officers working with hazardous chemicals, and those administrative staff predominantly serving the internal needs of the traffic function of the force and those officers in supporting roles. 3 Staff with multiple responsibilities (or designations) are recorded under their primary role or function. This may explain some variability between years. 4 Figures have been confirmed by all police forces after collection and before publication each year. 5 The variation in Essex Police’s figures between 2013 and 2014 is due to a review of the functionality of roles within the force as part of their Change Programme.

Security Guards: Licensing

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if she will take steps to tackle the problem of companies offering bogus or limited alternatives to the Security Industry Authority licence;
	(2)  whether her Department provides support to people with (a) disability and (b) other special needs in meeting the cost of acquiring a Security Industry Authority licence;
	(3)  if she will make an assessment of whether the cost of acquiring the Security Industry Authority licence acts as a barrier to people entering the private investigation trade.

Karen Bradley: The fee for an individual Security Industry Authority (SIA) licence to conduct private investigations has not yet been confirmed. However, the SIA remains committed to minimising its costs and, in turn, the fees it charges, to ensure they are proportionate to the services provided. Indeed, the cost of an SIA three-year individual licence for designated private security industry sectors was reduced from £245 to £220 in January 2012 to reflect the reduced unit costs of processing applications.
	Any changes made to the SIA’s licensing regime are subject to the principles of Managing Public Money and Her Majesty's Treasury and Home Office Ministers’ approval. As a public sector body the SIA has a duty to meet the requirements of the Equality Act 2010, including ensuring it does not discriminate against any applicants with protected characteristics, including those with disabilities.
	Under the provisions of the Private Security Industry Act 2001, the SIA is responsible for licensing individuals who operate in designated sectors of the private security industry. If the SIA is made aware of companies deploying individuals without appropriate individual licences it would pursue the company under its enforcement strategy and prosecute any responsible individuals under the provisions of the Act.

Telephone Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what timetable her Department plans to phase-out the use of telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, 0844 and 0843 in accordance with the Cabinet Office guidance on customer service lines published in December 2013 and (b) 03 and 08, where 03 is the primary number under a dual numbering system.

Karen Bradley: The use of telephone lines with the prefix 0843, 0844 and 0845 will be phased out in accordance with the Cabinet Office guidance on customer service lines both where these have been the primary number or have been temporarily retained as secondary number behind a new 03 number.
	The Home Office and Her Majesty's Passport Office operates no 0843/0844 numbers.
	The Home Office's 0845 Nationality Contact / European Enquiry Line and Asylum support line has been migrated to 0300 prefix in March 2014. The original 0845 number will be fully decommissioned by 31 December 2014.
	Her Majesty's Passport Office 0845 number for Customer letters migrated to 0300 prefix on 1 September 2014. The original 0845 number will be fully decommissioned by 31 December 2014.